GREENVILLE, N.C. (Oct. 19, 2009) - The ETSU women's golf team placed four players in the Top 15 during Monday's first and second rounds in the Lady Pirate Intercollegiate, powering the Buccaneers to a tie for first place heading into Tuesday's third and final round at the Greenville Country Club.

The Bucs - who are at the top with Georgia State - carded team scores of 296 and 290 in the first two rounds to finish at 586. Meanwhile, host East Carolina is just three strokes back in third place at 589.

"In practice we've really been trying to enjoy the game and just play," said ETSU head coach Stefanie Shelton. "Even with the freezing conditions today, the girls played all 36 holes and didn't get discouraged. If we had a bogey or two, they'd come back with a birdie. And Sinead (O'Sullivan) was a great example. She was sick out there and even got sick on the course, but still battled to shoot a 1-over score for us in the second round.

"That was an example of our team's resolve today. I was really proud of them and hopefully we can keep it up to win our first tournament of the year tomorrow."

While every player for the Bucs made an impact, the team was led by the play of sophomore Nina Muehl (Vienna, Austria), who posted scores of 74-71=145 to finish at 3-over-par and stands fifth on the leaderboard. Muehl is just six strokes back of Elon's Tara McFadden, who leads the event at 3-under 139 and holds a two stroke edge over East Carolina's Abby Bools.

Other ETSU results of note included a tie for ninth by senior Laura Jansone (Jurmala, Latvia), a tie for 12th by senior Kennie Leigh Eisenhower (Newport), and a tie for 15th by sophomore Mayte Vizcarrondo (Cadiz, Spain). While she finished tied for 31st, O'Sullivan did provide a solid second round, bouncing back from an 81 in the first round to post a 72 in the second round.

ETSUBucs.com will have a complete wrap up of Tuesday's final round action at the conclusion of play. Visit the site throughout the year for updates on ETSU women's golf.